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Tuesday, 9 June 2009

Lemon Chiffon Cake

I am getting more and more comfortable with making a chiffon cake.

I no longer feel like having a stomach full of butterflies whenever I need to whip the egg whites, although I still can't really tell whether it has reached the stiff peak stage?! I am still not getting the hang of folding the whites to the yolk mixture though. Sometimes...maybe, I could have over-whipped the white a little, or maybe the yolk mixture was too thick...incorporating the whites into the yolk never seems to be as easy as stated in every chiffon cake recipes "Gently fold the egg whites into the batter just until blended, taking care not to deflate the batter." I usually take very much longer than expected, and I doubt I have ever been gentle when performing the act. Even watching demo video clips on youtube doesn't seem to help :(

Well, at least I am getting really good at unmolding the cake from the tube pan. Most of the time I am able to get it out without causing too much damage to the golden brown crust ;) The trick is to use a very thin-bladed knife.

The other obstacle I have yet to overcome is the oven temperature. It was only last week that I realised all the while I have been baking with my not-so-up-to-standard table-top oven. First of all, it is a small oven, just 20 litres, compared to one that is 40 litres. It doesn't come with a fan, and it has only one set of heating element that is located on the top. Most good ovens come with two sets of heating elements, top and bottom, and with a fan for circulation which helps to create an even temperature. I would think my oven is just slightly better than a toaster oven. No wonder, I always have problem baking a chiffon cake. Without fail, the oven temperature will drop by 20 degC when the cake goes in, so I always had to set it higher than the recommended temperature. The cake will rise high over the rim during baking, however, close to the finishing time, it will start to shrink, even before I take it out of the oven. Sometimes I have to tent the top of the cake as my oven is so small that the top of the tube is not more than 2 inches away from the heating element, while the bottom of the pan is only 1 inch away from the base of the oven, not forgetting I am using a small 7 in" tube pan.

Anyway, enough of complaining...with the ample supply of lemons in the fridge, I managed to bake a Lemon Chiffon Cake the other day. I didn't have time to search for a suitable recipe, so I tweaked my favourite Earl Grey Chiffon Cake recipe and turned it to a lemon flavoured cake.

My little experiment was a success. The texture of the cake was not affected, it was moist and tender. I like the mild and light lemony flavour which was not too tangy. It was great for breakfast, and was excellent served with a cup of afternoon tea.

Separate egg yolks/whites and bring to room temperature. (It is easier to separate eggs when they are cold.)

Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl, add sugar in 3 separate additions and with a manual whisk, whisk till the mixture becomes sticky and turns pale.

Drizzle in the oil, whisking at the same time till the mixture is well combined. Repeat the same with the water, followed by the lemon juice. Sieve over the flour mixture and whisk until flour mixture is fully incorporated into the batter. Add in the lemon zest and mix well.

In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Gradually beat in the sugar and beat on high speed until just before stiff peaks form* (after note: after several attempts at baking chiffon cakes, I learned that the whites should be beaten until just before stiff peaks form).

Add the beaten egg white into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended.

Pour batter into a 18cm (7 inch) tube pan (do not grease the pan). Tap the pan lightly on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 170 degC for 45 ~ 50mins or until the cake surface turns golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately. Let cool completely before unmould. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and the center core. Release the cake and run the knife along the base of the pan to remove the cake.

106 comments:

Fluffy-looking lemon chiffon! Isn't it nice once we've mastered the science behind chiffon making? It's so versatile that we can basically come up with new variations! I'll for sure tell my mom about this recipe because she's been looking for a lemon chiffon one.

Btw, where did you buy the chiffon cookbook by 曾美子? My mom's been wanting to get a copy of it but doesn't know from where. Thanks in advance for letting us know! =)

Looking good !I like ur recipe ! 3 eggs sounds really good for a small family like mine ! I made quite a lot chiffon b4 but not lemon one ! So try ur recipe soon. ^^Do u put whipped cream on when u eat it ? What kind of sauce u recommend for this lemon cake !

I always blame my oven when my bakings failed, it has 2 heating elements but it is not one of those cheaper ones that I got from Mustafa...now I have to admit is my lousy skill.. Your bakeries have turn out so perfect and nice and yours has one heating element only!I think I should knock the wall..

Hi Pei-Lin, Sorry I didn't buy the book, I borrowed it from the library. I think this book is available for purchase from some online Taiwan site, or you can ask her to look for it at Popular Bookstore. I have only seen 曾美子 other cookbook on bread making at the Popular stores here, but I have not seen the chiffon cookbook.

Hi Big-Girlicious, I guess I am very lucky!!

Thanks thecoffeesnob, I think this is just about the only thing I do best ;)

Hi Kikuta, I'm sorry, I am not sure whether baking it longer will effect the texture, but I do suspect it will make the cake dry.

Thanks Parita!

Hi Grace, I am always inspired by your beautiful chiffon cakes!

Hi Rachel, no I don't put whipped cream as I prefer to eat the chiffon cake on it's own...hmmm, that's the way I have our pandan chiffon cake since young.

Bimmer, yes, mine is a Tefal.

agapejen, don't be too hard on yourself, I am just being lucky!It is important to bake chiffon in a tube pan as it provides better heat circulation...the heat can get to the centre of the cake. The inner tube also provide support for the batter when it rise and set. Hope this helps.

Can you provide a step by step instructions on how to beat the egg white ? - something like the sponge cake instruc. I noticed the bottom was always not beaten properly.The top is formy but below is still watery.What is the consistency?

Hi Ling, I am sorry, I am not good at beating egg whites as I am not sure whether I am doing the right thing! However, you can go a search on youtube, there are many video clips on beating egg whites. I do not know what kind of mixer you are using, but I am using a handheld mixer, I will move the mixer around when beating, and will also move the mixing bowl to make sure the mixer gets to the bottom. Did you beat the egg whites till it reach the stiff peak stage before you start to notice that the bottom is watery? If that's the case, then you may have over beat the egg whites. If that's not the case, during the initial stage of beating, the egg whites is suppose to be formy and water, but as you beat, and add the sugar as you beat, the mixture will become smooth and glossy, like whipped cream. When it reaches the stiff peak stage, you can even invert the mixing bowl, and the mixture will not drip off. Hope this helps.

Hi Ellena, thanks for your encouragements :)

Hi CJ's mum, I got the tube pan from Phoon Huat.

Hi Cook.Bake.Love, you have made a good loaf of bread :)

Hi agapejen, I learned alot from answering questions! Thanks for all the questions :D

Thanks, will go to the you-tube to have alook.Mine is a hand-held mixer too.So one of the trick is to move it around.But what's the speed you use and also roughly how many minutes ?Sorry for asking so much, really wish this time my pandan cake will be successful.

Hi Ling, my mixer comes with 5 speeds (1 ~ 5) during the initial stage, I will use medium speed (speed 3) to beat the egg whites. When it starts to get foamy, I will turn to high speed (speed 4). When it starts to go into the soft peak stage, I will add in the sugar a little at a time. I will continue to use speed 4 (I don't use speed 5 as I am worried that my over 20 yr old mixer may not be able to take it!) until the whites become very smooth and glossy. I will then stop to check, and will reduce to low-medium speed (speed 2) so that I won't over beat it, and continue to check every minute. I am sorry, so far I have not recorded down how long the entire process take, but roughly it should be around 5 - 10mins. However, the time really depends on your mixer, and the speed you use. If you have a good standing mixer I think the time taken should be shorter. Do use room temperature egg whites which is easier to beat. I understand how eager that you want to get it right, it's the same for me. I am sure you will make a nice pandan cake in your next attempt, good luck!

the cake looks great! I too have a small oven, about the same size as you mentioned in your blog, but with two cooling elements. I always used to wonder what tube pan size will fit in it. I will now try with a 7 inch tube pan.

Hi HHB,I truly admired the way you unmolded your chiffon cake. It's perfecto! Would you mind to show us the technique of unmolding. Are you using a palette knife? It looks like the tube pan you're using is not from aluminium, am I right. I do not see any marks at all around the side but could see that on the bottom. I'm into chiffon and still learning to unmold my chiffon to look like yours. I just love all your photos. Thanks again for sharing.

Hi Ailay, I am sorry I dont know what's the material used for the tube pan. Sorry I dont get what you mean when you mention "marks"? Do you mean scratches? I bought the pan from Phoon Huat. No, I don't use a palette knife, I use a thin-bladed knife (a small knife I use for cutting small fruits). There is no special technique to unmold the cake, I simply run the knife around the inside of the pan and also the center core, then remove the cake and run the knife along the base of the pan to remove the cake. I will try to slide the knife as close to the sides of the pan to avoid slicing into the cake. You may want to take a look at this video clip here: (http://www.choco-recipe.jp/milk/mov/049.html?seektime=0&endtime=). Hope this helps.

Hi HHB,My tube pan is 20cm ( the recipe given use 7 eggs!). so if i were to follow your recipe here, any idea how should I adjust the amount of the ingredient? can i use olive oil instead of vegetable oil?

Hi Wong, you can use pure olive oil. However, I won't suggest that you modify the recipe as chiffon cakes are quite delicate, it is best to follow the exact amount of the ingredients. Let me know your email address, I will see whether I can find any recipes meant for 20cm pan and mail it to you.

I made this chiffon cake today using the same recipe but with a 21cm tube pan. The taste turned out very good, but the cake's texture is a little dry although I have shortened the baking time....would you know what is wrong? I'm thinking of trying the cake again and increase all the ingredients by 25% so as to fill up the pan :)

Hi Joy, sorry to hear about the undesired outcome of you cake. For chiffon cake, it is best to stick to the recommended pan size. I realy wont advise you to increase the ingredients to fit your pan size. It is best to look for other recipes that are meant for 21cm pan. Sorry, I am of not much help here.

Hi HHB, thank you for your reply. You are right, without reading your comment, I have increased the proportion of the ingredients, but the cake still turned out almost the same.... Its ok, thanks so much for all the wonderful recipes.

Hi, there is no problem with the egg whites without the cream of tartar. Just make sure you add the sugar only after beating the whites till it becomes foamy, and add the sugar gradually (at least in 3 separate additions), and make sure the sugar is well beaten each time it is added. Hope this helps.

That looks moist and delicious! I love lemon chiffon cake, actually all kinds of foam cakes, they are light, smooth and tasty. Lemon chiffon cake is my fav type of cake. Your picture med me hungry. My mouth is watering—amazing photo. I think I need to spend more time next time & follow your advice. I can't wait to try it. Yes..U have done a really great job in unmoulding the cake. thank you for posting and sharing it.

Hello HHB!I made this cake yesterday, thanks for the recipe. It was my fourth attemp and I finally managed to bake a perfect cake. The 3 other times I has problems with either the unmoulding or the baking time or the lemon flavor, but this time it was fabulous!!! It was fluffy and had a strong flavour.I used a flowery mould because I don´t have a plain one. The photo is here.Thanks again!

Hi Jessica, I don't use a particular brand, I usually use whatever I have on hand, sometimes I use Pure olive oil, sometimes canola oil, or sunflower oil which I use for cooking (usual brand I use is Naturel).

Your chiffon has turned out well! Such a lovely colour on the crust! I tend to use a trusted Orange Chiffon recipe and have always wanted to make a lemon flavoured one but scared to tweak for fear of making it too sour & curdling/not sweet enough! Now I can use yours! I do have a large pan though, I think it may be 23cm? I think I will try doubling your recipe.

I'm a beginner and would like to try my hand at making a chiffon cake but do not have the tube pan. Don't think I would run out to buy one just to try it once.

I've read on the internet that we can place an oven-proof glass in the middle of a springform pan. But what they didn't say is whether we are supposed to weigh it down with maybe, water or something? Otherwise the glass will tend to slide around. Any advice HHB? Jaclyn

Jaclyn, I have not heard of this method. I don't think you can weight it down with water, because, immediately after baking, you will need to invert the pan to let it cool, otherwise the cake will sink. I am not sure whether you are a local? If yes, maybe you can try baking with those paper chiffon pan which you can get from Diaso. Otherwise, you can try baking with a normal round pan, the cake may not rise as high though.

Thanks HHB. I'm from Kuala Lumpur. I like your blog as it caters to smaller family, (actually I'm single), and has detailed step-by-step instructions.

Because I'm new at this, so didn't want to spend too much money at baking in case it turns out a disaster. I came across other online recipes that uses 7 eggs! I'm also interested in trying out your apple muffins recipe since it says makes 12, rather than 18 or 24 like other online recipes. Jaclyn

Recently, I attempted to bake this lemon chiffon cake with a 6 inch round pan cos I do not own a tube pan at the moment. I have actually halved the given recipe. The final baked cake is not as high, but the texture is soft and taste palatable. I have posted 2 pictures here. Please pardon the unprofessional photography skills.

I used to live in Singapore but have now moved to Scotland, where chiffon cakes aren't the best known. Having a craving for Pandan chiffon but not being able to get the right ingredients, I settled for this lemon chiffon recipe. I have to say, I do not regret it one bit! It's a wonderfully easy recipe and you're always likely to have the simple ingredient at home. As for the cake: turns out perfect every time! Thank you for this recipe!

Love your site, but I love your homebakes more! Such inspiring creations. Right now, we have lots of lemons from the garden, and I'll try your recipe and will bake Lemon Chiffon cake! Perfect for tea this cold autumn afternoon. Cheers.

I notice that there are 2 ways of mixing the egg yolks and sugar. Some recipe only requires the yolks to be mix with sugar, whereas other recipe calls for the yolk to be beaten with sugar till ribbon stage.

So I am wondering why this is so. Do we have to follow strictly the recipe or we can choose one of the method ?

Thanks for ur lovely recipes! I encountered a problem, the batter flows out from the bottom of the tube pan( the detachable type). Do u hv similar encounters too? May I know how I can resolve this problem? Thanks! Dawn

Hi Dawn, I have no problem with the batter leaking. My chiffon pan is the detachable type. Could it be that the the pan is dented, or the finished batter is too thin and runny? The finished batter should appear thick and airy.

Hi Joss, glad to hear that you like this recipe :) You could have deflated the batter when folding the whites to the yolk batter. The finished batter should be thick, not thin and runny. Keep practising, and I am sure you will be able to bake a perfect chiffon cake :)

However I have a question. My cake doesn't raise very much, less than an inch and even at the centre it rose away from the tube. Is this normal? I was not able to mix the egg white very well, ended up with bits of egg white even after quite long time. Could the egg white be deflated during mixing thus not raising well?

I am so glad that I've found your blog :') I've tried baking for numerous times with my Tefal counter top small oven but all my cakes came out dense and sometimes under-cooked I believe. Is there anyway to 'understand' my oven? I increased my baking temperature by 20C on each baking, but it didn't work too, still dense. Should I get a new oven instead?

Hi, besides the oven, it could be due to other factors...I used my tefal counter top oven for several years and had no problem with it, except that it was too small to bake two trays of cookies at a time, and the temperature dropped drastically once I opened the oven door. Did you have problem with simple bakes like muffins and cookies? Which type of cakes you made came out dense? butter cakes? or chiffon cakes? Sometimes it could be the method of preparing the batter...may be you want to try again with other recipes before deciding to get a new oven?

Hi, I am Bel btw. Thank you for replying me. I've tried banana cake, moist chocolate cake and they all came out dense, even with cake mix too. My pumpkin chiffon cake which I baked twice, both came out with one thin under-baked layer in the middle. I prepared both in two different methods but both came out with the same problem.

Hi Bel, did you use an oven thermometer to ensure you have preheat the oven to the right temperature before baking? It usually takes about 15 to 20mins to preheat the oven. Could it be that the oven was not hot enough when u put in the cakes?

Hrm.. I never thought of that, maybe i'll get one and do the test. I always preheat the oven for about 30mins. I was thinking it's my temperature problem. Last night I baked orange yogurt cake and it came out quite well this time. I increased my temperature by 50'C and prolonged the baking time for 5 mins. So is this how I should bake next time, having to increase the temp this way?

Hi, yes, do use an oven thermometer, you can then adjust the temp accordingly. the temperature dial is actually not very reliable unless u preheat the oven to the right temperature and do not open the oven door as the temperature will drop.

I have tried ur recipe n tried 4 times but all don't seems to rise. Will you b able to advise me? I saw different chiffon hv different quantity or sugar n flour. How do I know how much to put? I tried changing lemon to orange but it did not rise. Do I need to use 4 egg whites?

Hi, it could be due to the beating of the whites, did u beat the whites till it almost reaches stiff peaks? if u have done the beating of the whites correctly, then it could be due to the folding of the whites to the yolk batter, u could have deflated the batter. The finished batter should be quite thick and not thin and runny. If the folding is done correctly, then it could be the type of pan u used, do you use a chiffon tube pan? if u use a normal pan, the cake will not rise much.

Hi, I beat till it almost reach stiff peak n when I fold in to the batter I try to b gentle n try not to deflate it. I dunno whether I did deflate it a bit. When I pour into the chiffon tin it's only like 60% filled. I try weighing my egg wif e shell n it's like 57g. I think mayb it's bit small. I m going to try again later n tis time wif 4 egg whites. Will it b tat water n juice add up makes it too moist?

The duration of beating the egg white last like less than 5mins..I follow the speed u used and I m using a handheld mixer. After putting the last bit of sugar it's like almost done. I see like foamy n when I leave up the mixer the batter doesn't drop. Is this the correct way? I don't dare to beat further I scare I overbeat

Hi, I usually beat the whites until the whites in the mixing bowl doesnt flow around if I move the bowl; and when the whisk is lifted, it will form a curl, see photos in my blog post here:http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.sg/2007/09/milestone.htmlYou can also google for demo videos to show how the whites should be beaten. The finished batter should fill a 7" chiffon pan to at least 80%. The batter should be thick and will flow like 'lava' when u pour it into the pan. The 'trail' will not disappear immediately (hope u know what I mean?).

I use large eggs, about 55g without shell. You can try with 4 egg whites.I cant comment on whether extra liquid will make it too moist...the best is to follow the recommended ingredient amount.

Ya I got wat u mean. I saw tat photo too n also look at YouTube. I finally succeed wif my 4 egg whites. It finally rise to almost the top when in the oven and when I take out it doesnt shrink. So happy.

Hi, I am so happy to hear that you have great success with your chiffon cake :):) It reminds me when I first attempted at baking chiffon cakes, I was totally clueless as to whether to stop or to continue to beat the whites. I will like to recommend that you try recipes which i have taken from this book '好吃戚风蛋糕轻松上手, by 福田淳子'. The recipes are really good and best of all no baking powder is required.

Hi Amy, I have not tried using a round pan to bake...for the earl grey chiffon recipe, it is meant for a 18cm tube pan, you may need to use 18cm round pan instead, 20cm pan may probably yield a shorter cake?

Hi Amy, are you able to fill up the pan to at least 3/4 full with the finished batter? How about the consistency of the finished batter? Is it thick and flow ribbon like leaving trails which will not disappear immediately as you pour it into the pan? If not maybe you could have deflated the batter...

Hi Amy, what about during baking? Does the cake rise over the rim like the first photo in this post?http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.sg/2011/10/another-lesson-learned.htmlDid the cake sank too much upon cooling? If yes, then it could be due to the beating of the egg whites to the correct stage.

The finished batter should look something like what Wendy of Table for 2 has illustrated on her post:http://wendyinkk.blogspot.sg/2009/05/orange-chiffon-cake.htmlPlease hop over to her blog and I am sure you will learn alot from her. My baking knowledge and skills is really limited (^^") can't really help you much.

Hi Amy, not really sure what went wrong, but I have read from chiffon cakebooks that it could be due to the beating of the whites...the egg whites are not stable enough...after baking, when u remove it from the oven, the drop in temperature will cause the cake to shrink as the egg whites is unable to hold up the structure (pardon my lousy use of words/phrasing I read this in Chinese and these are the best way I could explain it). Unstable beaten whites refer to beaten whites that contain a mix of big and small air bubbles...whereas a well beaten, stable whites contains uniform air bubbles. Sorry I don't really know the real science behind but think it is really got to do with beating the whites. My best suggestion is, keep practising and I am sure your chiffon cakes will turn out beautiful. Happy baking!

I really hope that you're online now. I promised to make an orange cranberry chiffon cake for my friend's baby shower tomorrow. I've tried your orange cranberry chiffon recipe but I prefer this lemon chiffon recipe more, for some reason it just came out perfectly from my crappy oven :) Do you think I could make an orange cranberry chiffon from this recipe? Any idea if I just replace lemon juice with orange juice or also water with orange juice? Many thanks!

Hi, I am not able to response to your queries until now. Hope everything went well? Since it is for a baby shower, it is best to follow recipe closely to avoid any unsatisfactory results. It is possible to just replace the lemon juice and water with orange juice...but I have not tried it so I am not sure whether it really works.

Hi I've been looking to your sponge cakes recipes. They are look great and yummy. Love the carrot cake. I have a question though, have you tried making your sponge cake to a cake pan? If so, will it create 2 pans? I'm thinking of putting some icing on it. Thanks!

Hi Ela, I have not tried baking chiffon cake in normal round pan. However, I have tried using the same separate eggs method as chiffon cake (beating of egg whites and yolks separately) for a birthday cake which is baked in a cake pan (http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.sg/2012/06/cake-for-special-occasion.html) I don't think the portion (3 yolks, 4 whites) will yield 2 pans. I baked in 1 pan but cut the cake into 3 layers. Hope this helps.

Hi, Made this cake and I doubled your recipe. I too think that the cake is a bit salty, will adjust to 1/2 tsp if I were to make this again. The cake was lovely, soft and moist, thanks for sharing.http://www.nofrillsrecipes.com/2015/06/lemon-chiffon-cake.html